The Battle of Lake Benacus was fought along the banks of Lake Garda in northern Italy, which was known to the Romans as Benacus, in early 269 AD, between the army under the command of the Roman Emperor Claudius II and the Germanic tribes of the Alamanni and Juthungi.
Ιn 268, τhe Alamanni, who had been making incursions into Roman territory since the reign of Marcus Aurelius, had broken through the Roman frontier at the Danube and crossed the Alps, when the power struggles around Mediolanum (Aureolus' revolt, murder of Gallienus, confrontation between Aureolus and Claudius) forced the Romans to denude the frontier of troops. The Alamanni started pillaging northern Italy while Claudius headed north to confront them. Details of the battle are unknown but future emperor Aurelian certainly played a part. After this victory, Claudius assumed the title Germanicus Maximus.
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“Will lovely, lively, virginal today
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This hard, forgotten lake haunted in snow
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